Functional Organization of Auditory and Reward Systems in Aging

Abstract

The intrinsic organization of functional brain networks are known to change with age, and are affected by perceptual input and task conditions. Here, we compare functional activity and connectivity of auditory and reward systems during music listening and rest between young (N=24) and older (N=24) adults, using whole brain regression, seed-based connectivity, and ROI-ROI connectivity analyses. We found that although auditory and reward regions follow expected patterns of activation in response to music listening across both groups, younger adults show higher within-network connectivity of auditory and reward regions as compared to older adults during both rest and music listening. We also show that this age-related difference was reduced during music listening, especially in individuals showing high self-reported musical reward. Furthermore, young adults showed higher connectivity between auditory network and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) that was specific to music listening and varied as a function of self-reported musical liking. Meanwhile, older adults showed a more globally diffuse pattern of connectivity, including higher connectivity to bilateral lingual and inferior frontal gyri. Finally, connectivity between auditory and reward regions was higher during well-liked musical stimuli across all participants, and especially higher when listening to music selected by the participant. These results highlight the roles of aging and reward sensitivity on auditory and reward networks. Results may inform the design of music-based interventions in aging populations, and improve our understanding of functional network dynamics as a whole.

Age-related variability in network engagement during music listening

“…We ultimately chose the 4 state estimation as it provided a single state with activity in temporal and mesolimbic regions together. Temporal and mesolimbic region activity has been previously related to auditory reward (Salimpoor et al, 2011, Fasano et al, 2020), including prior analyses of subsets of the present data (Belden et al, 2023, Quinci et al, 2022).…”

“…A brief outline of data collection is included here. For a detailed description of participant recruitment, study protocol, and data acquisition, please see Quinci et al (2022) and Belden et al (2023).…”

Abstracts

“…References: Erro, R; Magrinelli, F; Bhatia, KP (2023) Paroxysmal movement disorders: Paroxysmal dyskinesia and episodic ataxia Handbook of Clinical Neurology. 196, 347-65 Olszewska, DA; Shetty, A; Rajalingam, R; et al (2023) Genotype-Phenotype Relations for episodic ataxia genes:MDSgene systematic reviews European Journal of Neurology 30 (10), 3377-93 149 Cerebellar transcranial electrical stimulation with direct current (tDCS) combined with a protocol of personalized physiotherapy on balance in neurodegenerative Ataxia: a feasibility study M. León, E. Verdi, R. Fuentes, S. de Almozara, T. Capato, Santiago, Chile Objective: To study the feasibility of cerebellar transcranial electrical stimulation with direct current (c-tDCS) combined with a protocol of personalized physiotherapy on postural adjustments in Ataxia.…”

“…The median disease duration was 14.2 AE 3.8 years [9-24]. The evolution time with motor fluctuations was on average 6.9 AE 2.7 years [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]., with mean UPDRS OFF medication was 71.1 AE 16.6 years . The LEDD before surgery was 1892 mg/day [1295-2600].…”

“…Results: Of the 37 patients (19 males) included in this analysis, 36 (97%) had STC based on a total LE ≥7. The median (IQR) total LE was 12 (10)(11)(12). Of the 35 patients who were assessed for rectal gas, 24 (69%) were found to have an MRGA of 10 cm 2 or greater indicating EvD.…”